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Salvage It! BY JULIAN EDGAR The multi-purpose tape machine Old tape-based answering machines can now be picked up for next to nothing or perhaps you’ve got one stashed away in the cupboard. Here are few ideas to put it to use. Tape-based telephone answering machines are now available free where ever electrical junk is discarded. So what can you do with them? As described in the text, there are plenty of novel messaging applications. 84  Silicon Chip L OOK AT THESE PICTURES – seen one of these before? If you said, “Yeah, of course I have – it’s just an old telephone answering machine” then think again. What you have in front of you is really a multi-purpose tape machine – one that’s able to leap tall buildings, etc . . . Well, not quite but it’s certainly capable of forming the basis for some interesting “no-cost” projects. Want some examples? OK, you live on a main road where there’s a constant stream of charity collectors and fervent religious followers continually coming to your door. You’re not against giving to charities but you’d prefer to do it on your terms not theirs and your religious beliefs are already firmly held. Here’s where that old answering machine comes in – you can use it to get rid of them. Imagine this: you’re just settling down to build a brand new electronic kit and the doorbell rings. You just know it’s not anyone you want to talk to so you just press a button that’s linked to the answering machine. One press is all that’s needed and the message is clearly and loudly played to those door squatters: “Thank you but I am not interested in anything that you have to sell or collect. Please leave my property forthwith. This is a recording so don’t bother answering back. The guard dog will be automatically released in 30 seconds”! And if you want to really want to drive the message home, you can have a harangue lasting up to a minute! Ha! – that’ll show ’em. Well, you get the idea, although in practice you might want the message to be a bit more restrained than that. In short, anywhere that a recorded message is needed at the push of a button, this machine can be used for it. And if you’re thinking, “why use a siliconchip.com.au Introducing the new and exciting range of Hot Devil Soldering Irons and Gas Torches BONUS PACK 2 FOR 1 UNDER $36.00 R.R.P. The unit we used was the Shimasu F-7010. It was listed in the Dick Smith Electronics 1996-97 catalog for $59.95 but can now be picked up at garage sales, secondhand stores and the like for a dollar or two. We got ours from a municipal tip, so it cost nothing at all. tape machine in this day and age?”, just consider the available message length and the cost. First, the machine costs nothing (or almost nothing) because you already had it stashed away in a cupboard or you scrounged it. And second, some tape answering machines can run a 3-minute message! Our answering machine The unit we used was the Shimasu F-7010. It was listed in the Dick Smith Electronics 1996 catalog for $59.95 and can now be picked up at garage sales, secondhand stores and the like for a dollar or two. The unit shown here came from a municipal tip, so it cost nothing at all. Recording & playing a message After you’ve made sure that there’s a tape inside the machine and it’s powered up, follow these steps. To record the message, press the OGM (out-going message) button until the LED flashes. Record your message and release the button. To play what you have just recorded, simply momentarily press the OGM button – it really can’t get much easier than that. Temp to 1300 oC Supplied with Bonus Pocket Torch valued at $12.95 R.R.P. Model No. MT6000SB MICRO TORCH The smallest ever Butane Gas MicroTorch and Soldering Iron with Auto Ignition UNDER $25.00 R.R.P. GAS TRIGGER TORCH & SOLDERING IRON Rat It Before You Chuck It! Whenever you throw away an old TV (or VCR or washing machine or dishwasher or printer) do you always think that surely there must be some good salvageable components inside? Well, this column is for you! (And it’s also for people without a lot of dough.) Each month we’ll use bits and pieces sourced from discards, sometimes in mini-projects and other times as an ideas smorgasbord. And you can contribute as well. If you have a use for specific parts which can siliconchip.com.au easily be salvaged from goods commonly being thrown away, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you use the pressure switch from a washing machine to control a pump. Or maybe you have a use for the highquality bearings from VCR heads. Or perhaps you’ve found how the guts of a cassette player can be easily turned into a metal detector. (Well, we made the last one up but you get the idea . . .) If you have some practical ideas, write in and tell us! Model No. PT16TS o Soldering up to 400 C Torch to 1300 oC o Hot Blow to 500 C Anti-Flare Wind Resistant R.R.P. Free Standing Auto Ignition UNDER $59.00 Model No. HT882 For your nearest stockist visit: www.hotdevil.com.au or phone: (03) 9775 0713 January 2007  85 As this photo shows, accessing the Outgoing Message Record pushbutton wiring, the speaker and the microphone is easy. It’s then straightforward to turn the old answering machine into a voice-warning annunciator, a talking burglar alarm, or even a sound generator in a model train layout. Note: the above steps are for the Shimasu F-7010 answering machine. Other tape-based answering machines work in similar fashion. A few uses There are plenty of uses that can be made of a warning message tape. Some are fun and others more serious. Here’s three examples: (1) Model railway sounds – the big advantage over generic sound simulator chips is that you can actually record real train sounds! One example is the sound of “ding-dong” level crossing bells – you can record these (perhaps with another tape recorder) and then the sound will be as realistic as possible. On the layout, the tape machine can be triggered by a reed switch activated by a magnet in the approaching train. (2) Interior car alarm – how would you feel as a thief if the owner started warning you ominously? “Warning! Warning! This car is being stolen. GPS tracking has been enabled. Warning! Warning!” It’s easy to do if the tape machine is triggered by a momentary input. Feed this message through a cheap car audio amplifier and an external horn speaker and very few thieves would proceed! (3) Industrial warning – this could be used to explain an “idiot light”; eg, “Low oil pressure has been detected. Turn off the engine immediately. Damage will result if the engine keeps running. This is the low oil pressure alarm”. The modifications Very little needs to be done to the machine to modify it for its new role – in fact, maybe nothing at all. For most applications, where the machine will be triggered remotely, it’s a case of opening it up and then connecting a new momentary pushbutton switch (or reed switch or relay contacts) via flying leads in parallel with the “OGM” button. To improve the recorded sound, you may want to remove the microphone from the case and re-position it, so that your voice is recorded more clearly. The playback also benefits substantially from a larger, more efficient speaker. If you want to get really loud, there’s nothing stopping you adding an amplifier. The volume control on the side of the answering machine should be set to match the amplifier’s input level. Don’t forget that cleaning the tape head (use methylated spirits and a cotton bud) and using a new tape can also appreciably lift the sound quality. Finally, don’t skimp on the quality of the message. For example, in the case of a burglar alarm warning, there’s nothing to stop you adding police sirens and running foot-steps as background audio to the warning message. That’ll really scare ‘em! SC Issues Getting Dog-Eared? Keep your copies safe with these handy binders. REAL VALUE AT $13.95 PLUS P & P Available Aust, only. Price: $A13.95 plus $7 p&p per order (includes GST). Just fill in and mail the handy order form in this issue; or fax (02) 9939 2648; or call (02) 9939 3295 and quote your credit card number. 86  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au